Core euro zone inflation edges up in March, keeping ECB on alert

By Balazs Koranyi FRANKFURT (Reuters) – Euro zone inflation eased last month but underlying readings remained stubbornly high, Eurostat said on Wednesday, confirming preliminary data that raised worries at the European Central Bank about the persistence of price pressures. Consumer inflation in the 20 nations sharing the euro eased to 6.9% from 8.5%, primarily on…

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Mercedes includes buyback option as Russian assets sale given official approval

(Reuters) – Mercedes-Benz has agreed on a buyback option for its Russian assets, the sale of which has now been granted official approval, the German carmaker said on Wednesday, bringing its exit from Russia one step closer. Mercedes, which suspended exports to Russia and local manufacturing in early March 2022, last year agreed to sell…

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Euro zone current account surplus widens in February

FRANKFURT (Reuters) – The euro zone’s current account surplus widened in February as imports fell thanks lower energy costs and already large net exports of services remained broadly steady, data from the European Central Bank showed on Wednesday. The 20-nation bloc’s adjusted current account surplus increased to 24.32 billion euros in February from 18.63 billion…

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Heineken sees Europe resilience offseting Asia slowdown risk

By Philip Blenkinsop BRUSSELS (Reuters) -Heineken maintained its forecast for 2023 profit growth with the risk of slower economic expansion in the Asia-Pacific region offset by greater resilience among beer drinkers in Europe. The world’s second-largest brewer expects its operating profit this year to increase by a mid- to high- single-digit percentage. “We see signals…

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Rheinmetall and KMW to upgrade Puma armoured vehicles for German army

(Reuters) – Rheinmetall and Krauss-Maffei Wegmann (KMW) have received an order from the German army to upgrade 143 Puma infantry fighting vehicles, the companies said on Wednesday The order for their joint venture PSM is valued at around 770 million euros ($843.92 million), they said in a joint statement. According to the companies, they will…

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China may hold lending benchmarks steady as recovery remains on track -analysts

SHANGHAI/SINGAPORE (Reuters) – China is widely expected to stand pat on lending benchmarks at the monthly fixing on Thursday, a Reuters survey showed, as economic recovery has been well on track – as seen from better-than-expected first-quarter data. China’s economy grew at a faster-than-expected pace in the first quarter, reducing the urgency for authorities to…

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Fox settles Dominion lawsuit for $787.5 million over US election lies

By Helen Coster and Jack Queen WILMINGTON, Delaware (Reuters) -Fox Corp and Fox News on Tuesday settled a defamation lawsuit by Dominion Voting Systems for $787.5 million, averting a trial putting one of the world’s top media companies in the crosshairs over its coverage of false vote-rigging claims in the 2020 U.S. election. The settlement,…

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